Robert Whitaker was named CEO of Gallup, N.M.-based McKinley Christian Health Care Services.
Mr. Whitaker will oversee the private, nonprofit health system, which includes Rehoboth McKinley Christian Hospital, effective April 15, according to a March 23 news release.
He will be the hospital's first permanent CEO since September 2020. Don Smithburg, a senior vice president at Plano, Texas-based Community Hospital Corp., the company that manages Rehoboth McKinley, has been helming the hospital on an interim basis. The hospital board fired the previous CEO in June 2020.
Most recently, Mr. Whitaker has been serving as CEO of Southwest Medical Center in Liberal, Kan. He also was COO for the facility from 2015-16, the release said.
Mr. Whitaker will begin his newest role after staff members asked for fresh leadership and oversight earlier in March. The hospital, meanwhile, noted various accomplishments since CHC began managing the hospital, including the launch of a $12 million technology modernization program and improvement in patient satisfaction scores.